RUTH Davidson has revealed who she is backing to be the next leader of the Conservative Party – but did not even mention that a Scottish Tory leadership contest is also ongoing.
Writing in an article for The Sunday Times, the Conservative life peer said her party had “managed to lose both its moral authority and shred its economic credibility” through Covid and the cost-of-living crisis.
She argued for the party to rebuild in opposition after a “catastrophic” General Election defeat in July, saying doing so was a matter of choosing the right battles to fight, and win.
“The Scottish Conservative Party that I inherited was in worse shape than the UK one is now and, while there are no shortcuts, there are things we can — and must — do to start our recovery,” Davidson wrote.
When it came to backing a Tory MP to take over from the outgoing Rishi Sunak, Davidson said she believed “the standout choice to take us forward is James Cleverly”.
The former Scottish Tory leader said Cleverly was “a big hitter, holding two of the great offices of state at the Home Office and Foreign Office [and a] pragmatist who can unite all sections of the party, having served under four prime ministers.”
Cleverly was home secretary for eight months under Sunak, and foreign secretary for 14 months after first being given the role in Liz Truss’s short-lived administration.
Cleverly has served in the government of four prime ministers, having been a junior minister under both Boris Johnson and Theresa May. In May’s government, he was a parliamentary under-secretary of state for exiting the European Union from April to July 2019.
Urging Tory party members to back Cleverly, Davidson concluded: “July’s election was an absolute pasting and the decision we make next – who leads our recovery – is the most important one the membership will have to make.
“I absolutely believe that we can win again, but the wrong decision now means we will be out of power for a generation.”
Davidson’s article in the Sunday Times did not even reference the fact that the Scottish Tories, the party she formerly led, are also going through a leadership contest.
Cleverly is running against Kemi Badenoch, Robert Jenrick, Priti Patel, Mel Stride, and Tom Tugendhat to take over as UK Conservative Party leader. Badenoch is currently the bookmakers’ favourite.
